


Break-In

by Jurgan



Category: The Bright Sessions (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Pre-Episode 24
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-14 02:12:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7148135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jurgan/pseuds/Jurgan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Damien gets Caleb to help him break Mark out of the AM.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Break-In

“There it is,” said Damien, pointing at the skyscraper in front of them. “The AM. Well, floors 14 and 15, at least.”

“Somehow, I thought it would be- I don’t know, scarier? More secluded?”

“There are advantages to hiding in plain sight. Or haven’t you noticed, Caleb?” Caleb wanted to run. Damien made a small adjustment.

“Let’s get this over with,” Caleb said, checking for traffic and then crossing the avenue. “I wish I knew why I was here, though.”

“Because you want to be, buddy.”

“You know what I mean.” Caleb rubbed his forehead. “Why do you want me here?”

“Dr. B is working hard to get Mark to wake up, but who knows how long that’ll take? If he’s still in a coma, I could use a big, strong football star to carry him out.” Damien walked through the revolving door and pressed the elevator call button. “Besides, I figured we might want to get to know each other. It’s always nice to meet other atypicals, and you remind me of an old friend.”

“Who was he?”

“Ahh, you don’t really want to know that.”

“Yes, I really do.” Caleb thought for a moment. “Which means you really want to tell me.”

Damien grinned as he stepped onto the elevator. “You’re getting good at this. What’s it like, anyway? I mean, you know what you want isn’t coming from you, but you still act on it. How’s that work?”

“It’s like… like, say you’re with a bunch of people and you have a bad itch on your butt. If you scratch it, you’ll look stupid, so you have to concentrate super hard to ignore it, and you can’t think of anything else. So you can spend all your time trying to fight the itch, or you can scratch it and then move on to something else.”

“Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.”

“Huh?”

“Just trying to keep up with Dr. B- I’ve been reading up on some personality disorders. She thinks I’m antisocial, which is a little unfair; I’m not the one extorting patients for my own gain. It sounds like I’m giving you OCD. Sorry about that.”

“No you’re not.”

“Eh, kind of. I mean, I’m not up all night racked with guilt, but… So you could maybe resist if you wanted. If, say, I told you to do something bad to Adam…”

Caleb stood straight up and took a step back. “No way. You can’t- I won’t-”

“Easy, big guy. Looks like we’ve found a limit. Or maybe not. After all, your little boy toy hasn’t done anything that bothers me, so it’s not like I really want anything bad to happen to him. Who knows how far I could push you if he really pissed me off?”

The elevator doors opened to a carpeted lobby. A red-headed woman was at the desk working a crossword puzzle. “Can I help you gentlemen?” she asked, not looking up.

“We’re exterminators,” said Damien. “We heard there was a roach problem in this office, and your boss asked us to do a survey of the rooms, see where the problem is.”

The woman looked up, frowning. “I don’t have any notes about that.”

“Ooh, sounds like there’s some problems with your filing. You’ll want to get on fixing that right away.”

“That’s a good idea. Here, let me give you some security badges first.” The woman handed them two plastic badges to clip on their shirts, and they walked through the door to her left.

“Oh, one more thing,” said Damien, sticking his head back out the door. “They said there was a patient who is not to be disturbed- Bright, I think his name was? Can you tell us where he is? Wouldn’t want to accidentally walk in on the poor guy.”

“Of course.” She clicked on the computer a few times. “Room 1512- that would be toward the end of the hall, turn right, then up the stairs.”

“Thanks, dollface. Take care.” He turned and went back through the door.

“Well, this is underwhelming,” said Damien. They were in a hallway with doors on either side, and it looked just like any other office building.

“You said it; they hid in plain sight.”

“I did, didn’t I? All right, let’s do this thing.” Damien started down the hall, and Caleb followed.

“You never did tell me about the person I remind you of.”

“Oh, right, Harry. Some guy my mom dated for a while. Big jock type in college, like you, but he was washed-up working at a gas station by then. Like that guy in the Springsteen song?” Caleb tilted his head. “You don’t listen to The Boss? Damn, Adam was right about your musical tastes. Anyway, my mom was spending way too much time with Harry, and then he started saying I had problems and needed counseling. Which was probably true, but I didn’t like him being around. So, pretty soon, he didn’t like being around, either. That was the first time I realized I was different.”

“By screwing around with your mom’s relationships. You might want to look up ‘Oedipal complexes’ when you get home.”

“Oh, like you’re so perfect. You and Adam aren’t exactly on equal footing, are you?”

“No, I- I know what he feels. I don’t make him feel it.”

“Still, knowing what he’s feeling has gotta help your game, right? You know if your moves are working, what to say and what not to say-”

“That’s why I told him about my powers before we started- well, I don’t want to have an advantage. It would be a breach of trust, or something.”

“Shit, you and Chloe both. Thinking you’re so much better than me.” Damien suddenly realized they had reached room 1512. “What say we table this discussion? It’s time to work.”

 

Caleb stood in front of a glass pane in the wall. Through it, he saw a man lying in a bed with a needle and tube stuck in his arm. His hair was cut short and there were suction cups attached all across his head. He had the same thin nose and rounded ears as Dr. Bright. His skin was slightly lighter than hers, although it was hard to tell for sure, as the room was quite dim. The only light came from the machines in the corners.

“Go on, Caleb, do your thing.” There was a keypad on the door with a red light above it, but Damien waved his badge in front of it and the light turned green and let out a soft beep. Caleb turned the handle and pushed his way in.

The room was very small. Caleb had to turn sideways to get all the way in, and the door closed behind him. The machines were silent- Caleb thought the heart monitor would beep, but maybe they turned off the sound for long-term patients. So, first thing was to take out the IV. Once he started detaching the electrodes they’d have to move quickly. Maybe no one was watching the machines too closely, but maybe as soon as his heart rate dropped it set off an alarm for a bunch of doctors and security to show up.  
Caleb reached for the needle and pressed down on it. He wished Adam were around; he’d know how to deal with this shit. Caleb’s hands were shaking- nervousness, kind of a hot pink color to that feeling. Caleb took a deep breath and slid the needle out gently. Blood started to trickle out, and Caleb reached for the gauze he had brought, feeling the nervousness build. Suddenly Mark gasped and jerked forward, and Caleb jumped back, slamming against the glass.

“What’s going on?” Mark asked, his head jerking around. “Where’s Sam?” Mark was afraid, Caleb could feel it flooding him, and he tried to push it back.

“Mark, we’ve gotta get out of here, I’m with your sister!”

“Joan, where is she? Oh God, I’m in the AM! She’s the one holding me here!”

“No, that’s not it!” Caleb was shouting and jerking his head around in panic, looking for a place to hide.

“Calm down, Mark!” he said, but it was no use- the fear was building every second.

“He has your powers!” Damien yelled. “He has the same powers as whoever’s near him!”

Caleb didn’t understand. The fear built up faster and faster. He was sweating and his legs were going weak. The room was turning black. He panted desperately but couldn’t catch his breath. He leaned against the glass and felt himself slump to the ground, the last light blacking out as he heard people running down the halls.

 

“What’s going on here?” asked the doctor who ran up to Damien, a security guard chasing behind.

“Beats me,” said Damien. “My partner went in there- he wasn’t supposed to- and the guy woke up and- I don’t know, something happened. You probably want to check on them.”

“Of course I want to check on them!” He shoved Damien out of the way, and Damien left the building as quickly as he could without attracting attention.

This was not going to be fun to explain. Damien wasn’t a genius, but he had figured this one out. When Mark woke up, he instantly took Caleb’s powers. Caleb felt the fear Mark had from waking up in a bad place, and then Mark took Caleb’s fear right back from him. The two got caught in some sort of emotional feedback loop until they overloaded each other and passed out. So instead of freeing a captive from the AM, Damien had just given them a new one. Shit.

Well, Dr. B wouldn’t be happy about this, but there was no way to keep it from her. Best to bite the bullet.

He turned on his phone and hit number one on his friends list. The phone rang once and then picked up.

“Damien, is that you? What happened?”

“Hey, Dr. B. You in your office?”

“No, I wasn’t planning to come in today, you know that.”

“Could you anyway? I think we need to talk.”

“Damien, just tell me what happened.”

“There was a- complication.”

The phone was dead silent for a few seconds. “What sort of complication?” asked Dr. B, her voice unnaturally steady.

“We really need to talk. Be there ASAP, doc. It’s… not good news.”

 

The Bright Sessions is written and produced by Lauren Shippen. Tonight’s story was written by Rob “Jurgan” Dukes with no expectation of profit. All characters property of Lauren Shippen and used without permission.


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